Swallow diagnostic device

ABSTRACT

A device for diagnosing an abnormal human swallow comprises a support member for fitting over the teeth of the user with the shaft slidably mounted at one end in the support member and a contact member mounted at the other end of the shaft for being disposed in the mouth of the user and with resilient means acting between the support member and contact member to hold the contact member at a relatively fixed distance from the support member during a normal swallow and to permit the shaft to slidably project from the support member during an abnormal swallow by the force of the tongue against the contact member.

United States Patent [1 1 Josephson et al. Apr. 2, 1974 [54] SWALLOWDIAGNOSTIC DEVICE 1,259,335 3/1918 Acton 30/368 X 3,482,324 12/1969Samhat 30/368 X lnventors- S a-2x 133 2 i l fs g g 3,133,355 5/1964Gordon 128/25 x 1714 Gunning Dr. Forest Hills Primary Exammerl(yle L.Howell Tgggg of wflmmgton Attorney, Agent, or FirmConn0lly and Hutz [22]Filed: June 14, 1972 [57] ABSTRACT [21] Appl. No.: 262,567 A device fordiagnosing an abnormal human swallow comprises a support member forfitting over the teeth of the user with the shaft slidably mounted atone end 128/2 S,A363l/l1 in the pp member and a Contact member [58]Fie'ld 32/17 mounted at the other end of the shaft for being dis- 33/174E posed in the mouth of the user and with resilient means acting betweenthe support member and 5 6] References Cited contact member to hold thecontact member at a relatively fixed distance from the support memberduring UNITED STATES PATENTS a normal swallow and to permit the shaft toslidably 2,315,660 4/1943 Sahr 32/17 project from the support memberduring an abnormal 2 d swallow by the force of the tongue against thecontact uste 640,696 1/1900 Pearl 30/368 member. 3,721,128 3/1973Thurman 33/174 D X 10 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures SWALLOW DIAGNOSTICDEVICE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to anappliance for aiding in the diagnosing of an abnormal swallow in humans.Frequently much of the beneficial work done in the field of orthodontiais later undone to some degree by adverse effects from improper swallow.These adverse effects could have been prevented, however, by correctingthe swallow in accordance, for example with known exercises or trainingprocedures for the patient. Accordingly, a need exists for an appliancein aiding the orthodonist in determining if the patient has an improperswallow which should be corrected even prior to the commencement of anyorthodontic work.

Various devices exist in the prior art which are directed to sundryfunctions such as recording muscle movements or relating to other dentaldimensioning devices. Exemplary of such prior art are U. S. Pat. Nos.3,610,227; 3,129,510; 3,075,573; 3,557,855; 3,614,950; 2,060,555;2,758,375; 1,944,601; 3,056,210; 2,902,769; 2,552,385 and 2,299,285.None of the above prior art, however, is concerned; with detecting theexistence of an improper swallow.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of this invention is to provide adevice which may be used for diagnosing an abnormal swallow.

A further object of this invention is to provide such a device which issimple in construction and use thereby lending itself to readyavailability for ultimate users.

In accordance with this invention a device for diagnosing an abnormalhuman swallow comprises a support member for fitting over the teeth ofthe user with the shaft slidably mounted at one end in the supportmember and a contact member mounted at the other end of the shaft forbeing disposed in the mouth of the user and with resilient means actingbetween the support member and contact member to hold the contact memberat a relatively fixed distance from the support member during a normalswallow and to permit the shaft to slidably project from the supportmember during an abnormal swallow by the force of the tongue against thecontact member.

The support member may be properly positioned on the teeth by an arcuategroove on the lower surface of the support member. The contact member isadvantageously disc shaped and includes a dished-out recess on itstongue contact surface with a peripheral rim or flange around the recessto assure proper positioning of the tongue against the contact member.

THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an end elevation view of a diagnostic device inaccordance with this invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the device shown in FIGS. l-2;

FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of the device shown in FIGS. l-3;

FIG. 5 is a front elevation view of the device shown in FIGS. 14;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken through FIG. 4 along the line 66;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view in elevation similar to FIG. 6 in adifferent phase of operation; and

FIG. 8 is a front elevation view similar to FIG. 1 of a modifieddiagnostic device in accordance with this invention.

It is noted that FIGS. 1-5 and 8 are drawn to a scale enlarged 1% timesfull size, while FIGS. 6-7 are at a scale double full size.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION As illustrated in the drawings the diagnosticdevice 10 includes a support member 12 which is generally bowed shapedwith the ends 14, 14 thereof coverging toward each other and towardcontact member 16 mounted on the end of shaft 18 which in turn isslidably held in support member 12. The lower surface 21 of supportmember 12 includes an arcuate groove 20 shaped to generally conform tothe maxillary arch of the user. In practice a few different size devicesmay be necessary to accommodate different age groups. As indicated inFIGS. 4 and 6 tongue contact member 16 has a dished-out recess 22 on itscontact surface thereby creating a peripheral rim or flange 24 to guidethe tongue T into proper position against contact member 16. Resilientmeans such as a spring 26 reacts between support member 12 and contactmember 16 to maintain the contact member a fixed distance from thesupport member. The end of shaft 18 has an enlarged flattened portion 28which acts as a stop to prevent the shaft and contact member frombecoming dislodged from support member 12. Shaft 18 is slidably mountedin wear sleeve 30 as best shown in FIGS. 6-7.

In practice device 10 is inserted into the mouth of the patient with thelower teeth T being positioned in groove 20 to assure proper relativepositioning of the device with respect to the tongue. The distance dbetween the contact member and the support member as measured, forexample, from the center of contact surface 22 to the center line ofgroove 20 is about inches or approximately 1 1/16 inches in theillustrated embodiment so that the tongue may barely contact surface 22during a normal swallow. After device 10 has been inserted in the mouth,the patient is instructed to place the tongue against contact surface 22and then swallow. Resilient means or spring 26 is so selected as tomaintain contact member 16 and thus also shaft 18 relatively stationaryduring this normal swallow. If the swallow is abnormal as indicated inFIG. 7 the force created by the tongue is such to cause the contactmember 16 to shift toward support member 12 which in turn causes the endof shaft 18 to project from the support member thereby providing a clearvisible indication to the orthodontist that the swallow is abnormal.Advantageously, support member 12 has an arcuate inner edge 13 toaccommodate disc 16 when the disc is moved outwardly by the tongue.

If desired indicia such as colored rings or spaced lines I contactmember 16A is made oval or eliptical shape to more generally conform tothe general configuration of the tongue. In this embodiment suitablemeans are provided to prevent any rotational movement of contact member16A and thereby assure proper orientation to the contact member withrespect to the tongue. Thus in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 8shaft 18A is made non-circular such as of square cross-section andslides in a complimentary shaped sleeve in the support member therebypreventing any rotation of the shaft and contact member while stillpermitting the shaft to slide in and out.

What is claimed is:

1. A device for diagnosing an abnormal human swallow comprising asupport member, said support member being generally flat with an uppersurface and a lower surface, said support member having an outer edgeand an inner edge disposed remote from said outer edge, said inner edgebeing generally bowed to create an open space between the ends of saidinner edge, tooth receiving positioning means on one of said uppersurface and said lower surface of said support member for mounting thesupport member between the jaws of a user in a predetermined position, ashaft slidably mounted at one end in said support member and extendingcompletely therethrough, a contact member mounted on the other end ofsaid shaft and located in said open space for being disposed in themouth of the user, and resilient means reacting between said supportmember and said contact member to hold said contact member at arelatively fixed distance from said support member during a normalswallow and for permitting said shaft to slide through and extend fromsaid support member during an abnormal swallow by the force of thetongue against said contact member.

2. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said positioning meanscomprises a groove in said lower surface of said support member, saidgroove being arcuate shaped to correspond to the maxillary arch of theuser.

3. A device as set forth in claim 2 wherein said contact member is aflat disc disposed perpendicular to said support member.

4. A device as set forth in claim 3 wherein thedistance between thecenterline of said groove to the sur face of said contact member remotefrom said groove is approximately 34 inch.

5. A device as set forth in claim 3 wherein said remote surface of saidcontact member is recessed to create a peripheral flange around saidsurface for aiding in positioning the tongue against said remotesurface.

6. A device as set forth in claim 5 wherein said remote surface iscircular.

7. A device as set forth in claim 5 wherein said remote surface isnon-circular, and guide means preventing rotation of said contact memberwhile permitting said'shaft to slide in said support member.

8. A device as set forth in claim 5 wherein said outer edge of saidsupport member is bow-shaped, and the ends of said support memberconverge toward said contact member.

9. A device as set forth in claim 5 including stop means on said shaftremote from said contact member for maintaining said shaft mounted insaid support member.

10. A device as set forth in claim 9 wherein said resilient meanscomprises a spring mounted around said shaft.

1. A device for diagnosing an abnormal human swallow comprising asupport member, said support member being generally flat with an uppersurface and a lower surface, said support member having an outer edgeand an inner edge disposed remote from said outer edge, said inner edgebeing generally bowed to create an open space between the ends of saidinner edge, tooth receiving positioning means on one of said uppersurface and said lower surface of said support member for mounting thesupport member between the jaws of a user in a predetermined position, ashaft slidably mounted at one end in said support member and extendingcompletely therethrough, a contact member mounted on the other end ofsaid shaft and located in said open space for being disposed in themouth of the user, and resilient means reacting between said supportmember and said contact member to hold said contact member at arelatively fixed distance from said support member during a normalswallow and for permitting said shaft to slide through and extend fromsaid support member during an abnormal swallow by the force of thetongue against said contact member.
 2. A device as set forth in claim 1wherein said positioning means comprises a groove in said lower surfaceof said support member, said groove being arcuate shaped to correspondto the maxillary arch of the user.
 3. A device as set forth in claim 2wherein said contact member is a flat disc disposed perpendicular tosaid support member.
 4. A device as set forth in claim 3 wherein thedistance between the centerline of said groove to the surface of saidcontact member remote from said groove is approximately 3/4 inch.
 5. Adevice as set forth in claim 3 wherein said remote surface of saidcontact member is recessed to create a peripheral flange around saidsurface for aiding in positioning the tongue against said remotesurface.
 6. A device as set forth in claim 5 wherein said remote surfaceis circular.
 7. A device as set forth in claim 5 wherein said remotesurface is non-circular, and guide means preventing rotation of saidcontact member while permitting said shaft to slide in said supportmember.
 8. A device as set forth in claim 5 wherein said outer edge ofsaid support member is bow-shaped, and the ends of said support memberconverge toward said contact member.
 9. A device as set forth in claim 5including stop means on said shaft remote from said contact member formaintaining said shaft mounted in said support member.
 10. A device asset forth in claim 9 wherein said resilient means comprises a springmounted around said shaft.